Vehicle stabilization systems, such as e.g. ESP, generally regulate the yaw rate and/or float angle of the vehicle. When these regulated quantities deviate too greatly from their setpoint values, the regulation system intervenes in the vehicle's movement in order to stabilize the vehicle through automatic, wheel-individual braking interventions, or using an active steering system. The goal of the regulation is to adapt the actual movement of the vehicle to a setpoint vehicle movement determined by the angle of the steering wheel. In addition, in the determination of the braking interventions the goal is pursued of slowing down the vehicle as little as possible, because this can be perceived as disturbing by the driver.
Vehicle dynamics regulation systems support the driver in the boundary area of the vehicle's dynamics, when the vehicle oversteers or understeers due to the limitation of the maximum lateral forces that are able to be transmitted by the wheels. However, in the case of a collision the known systems run up against their limits. Here, rear-end collisions or offset side collisions, in which a large yaw moment is exerted on the vehicle and the vehicle is quickly set into rotation, are particularly critical. Differing from frontal collisions, here the vehicle speed is not necessary reduced, so that in some circumstances the vehicle continues to move at a high speed. Since in particular inexperienced drivers often react wrongly or too late to the collision, and initiate unsuitable countermeasures, such as e.g. excessive countersteering, too-weak braking, etc., in some circumstances the vehicle will go completely out of control, resulting in accidents that can have grave consequences due to the high speed.
Conventional vehicle dynamics regulation systems do indeed intervene in driving operation in such a situation, but however are not able to stabilize the vehicle quickly enough and in an optimal manner, because the steering angle determined by the driver—which may have arisen in the confusion of the collision and may be unsuitable for achieving stabilization—is used as a basis for the regulation of the yaw rate or float angle. This has the result that the controller is following a non-optimal setpoint setting.
An object of the exemplary embodiments and/or the exemplary methods of the present invention is therefore to create a device and a method for stabilizing a vehicle, with the aid of which the vehicle is effectively stabilized after a collision, and is simultaneously significantly slowed down in order to reduce the danger and severity of potential resulting accidents.
According to the exemplary embodiments and/or the exemplary methods of the present invention, this object is achieved by the features described herein. Additional constructions of the exemplary embodiments and/or the exemplary methods of the present invention are the subject matter as described herein.
An idea of the exemplary embodiments and/or the exemplary methods of the present invention is to use sensors to monitor the driving state of the vehicle for the occurrence of a collision, and in the case of a recognized collision to regulate a quantity that describes the vehicle movement (vehicle movement quantity), such as e.g. the yaw rate, the float angle, or the lateral acceleration of the vehicle, to a setpoint value that is at least partially independent of the driver's steering input. This has the essential advantage that in the case of a collision it is possible to reduce the effects that a panicked reaction of the driver has on the regulation. The vehicle can thus be stabilized in a significantly more effective and faster manner.
The setpoint value of the regulation can be determined in various ways. According to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention, as a setpoint value an actual value measured immediately before the collision is used, such as for example the actual yaw rate present immediately before the collision. If at the time of the collision the vehicle is moving through a curve, the vehicle movement is also regulated according to this curve after the collision.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a setpoint yaw rate is calculated from a yaw rate calculated on the basis of the current driver steering angle, and on the basis of the yaw rate measured immediately before the collision.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a driving lane recognition system is provided that records the surrounding environment of the vehicle, e.g. using a video camera, and extracts from the image data information concerning the course of the driving lane. In this case, the calculation of the setpoint value takes place on the basis of the information concerning the course of the driving lane.
Optionally, a system can also be provided with which the trajectories (movement paths) of other vehicles are determined, e.g. using the radar sensor of an ACC system. In this case, the setpoint value can be calculated on the basis of the trajectories of the other vehicles. In this way, it is achieved that the vehicle suffering the accident is aligned with the movement paths of other vehicles.
According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the setpoint value is calculated from the data of a vehicle navigation system. If the lane course and the current position of the vehicle are known from a digital map, for example a setpoint yaw rate can be determined that the vehicle must have in order to follow the course of the lane.
According to another variant of the present invention, after the collision the vehicle is oriented by regulation interventions in such a way that the lateral speed of the vehicle is reduced in its magnitude. In this way, the severity of a potential side collision, which would be particularly dangerous for the vehicle's occupants, is reduced.
In the case of a collision, the vehicle may be not only stabilized but also actively braked. The vehicle's longitudinal speed can here be reduced to a predetermined value, or the vehicle can be brought to a stop.
The yaw rates measured in a collision can greatly exceed the yaw rates that occur during normal vehicle operation. Known vehicle dynamics regulating systems standardly carry out a plausibility test of the sensor signals in order to recognize errored sensor signals and to avoid false reactions of the system. Here, high yaw rates, or rapid changes in yaw rates, are standardly ignored and are regarded as error signals. In order to avoid this in the case of a collision, it is proposed to expand the plausibility range for the signal of the yaw rate sensor in the case of a collision, and thus also to regard very high yaw rates or changes in yaw rates as plausible.
In principle, a collision can be recognized by any suitable sensor mechanism, such as for example pressure sensors or acceleration sensors integrated at a suitable location in the vehicle. The design of the sensors and the location at which they are attached are sufficiently known from the prior art. According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the sensors of an airbag system are used to recognize a collision event. This can be realized in a particularly economical manner, because no additional sensors are required.
Given situation of a plurality of impact sensors in the vehicle, in particular the location of the impact, and possibly also the angle of the object collided with relative to the home vehicle, can be determined more precisely. From this, information can be derived concerning the magnitude of the forced yaw movement of the home vehicle. According to the exemplary embodiments and/or the exemplary methods of the present invention, these values can in turn be used to verify the yaw rates measured by the yaw rate sensor. In this way, the strength of the required regulating intervention can be determined more precisely and more reliably.
In the following, the exemplary embodiments and/or the exemplary methods of the present invention is explained in more detail on the basis of the accompanying drawings.